Public Whip Count

April 21, 2010

Posted by: Chris

A judge in Buenos Aires today upheld the validity of the first civil marriage between two women, rejecting the decision of another judge, Martha Gomez Alsina, who had set aside as "null and non-existent" the marriage between the two women, the newspaper La Capital is reporting.

This is the latest twist in quite the roller coaster ride for Norma Castillo and Ramona Arévalo, who were married after 30 years together, only to see their marriage declared "null and non-existent" by a judge acting at the behest of Roman Catholic lawyers. Now that judge's order has been struck down and a gay group is filing a civil and criminal complaint against the interfering judge for malfeasance.

It's the same pattern that followed Latin America's first gay marriage, also in Argentina, just last December, which was also later struck down by a second judge, acting at the behest of lawyers from the Catholic Church.

Unless jurisdiction is a loosey-goosey concept in Argentina, this sort of interference should subject the judges to ethics complaints, at a minimum. These are not appeals court judges, overturning the rulings of lower courts, but judges with entirely different jurisdiction responding to appeals to religion by a church that has no business claiming to be a moral arbiter of anything these days.

Don't expect to hear any condemnation of this very blatant form of judicial activism from the right. Just like conservatives here in the U.S. are marshaling forces to ask unelected judges to overthrow the will of the people on health care reform and financial regulatory reform -- and just as they already did on campaign finance reform. How will Republican senators question Obama's Supreme Court pick about "judicial activism" and keep a straight face?

According to the nationwide gay rights group, none of these annulments has any legal effect:

The Argentinian LGBT Federation reiterated that the ruling confirmed that "no" marriage between persons of the same sex has actually been annulled in the country, La Capital reported.

"The acts of these judges … besides being a new act of discrimination, do not bear any legal or procedural analysis," the Federation said in a statement. The group reiterated that "all marriages of same-sex couples are still valid and in force" and questioned the conflicting court rulings, saying that "being a judge does not entitle anyone to impose their religious beliefs to the rest of the population."

"They could not cancel any of the marriages because they do not have the legal authority to do so," said Maria Rachid, president of the Argentinian LGBT Federation. The group called for a ruling by the Supreme Court in these cases so that "these judges are no longer confusing society."

The question may be resolved before it even reaches the Supreme Court, since it appears the country's parliament may take up legislation as soon as this week that will clarify that marriage rights extend to same-sex couples.

April 19, 2010

Posted by: Chris

Call it the Ron Paul wing of the Tea Party movement, but a sizable portion of the colorful, spelling-challenged protesters are at least consistent about wanting the government out of our pocketbooks andout of our bedrooms:

In general, those who turned out for the April 15 Tea Party event tended to be less culturally conservative than national Republicans.

Asked to rate their level of anger about 22 issues on a scale of one (not angry at all) to five (extremely angry), the issue that drew the most anger: the growing national debt. The least: courts granting same-sex couples the right to marry. Twenty-four percent said they’re “not at all” upset about gay marriage.

The results suggest a distinct fault line that runs through the tea party activist base, characterized by two wings led by the politicians who ranked highest when respondents were asked who “best exemplifies the goals of the tea party movement” — former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), a former GOP presidential candidate. …

Specifically, 51 percent of tea party activists say “government should not promote any particular set of values,” while 46 percent said “government should promote traditional family values in our society.” Compare this to national Gallup Polls, which recently found 67 percent of self-identified Republicans think government should promote such values.

What can you say about conservatives who believe it's a betrayal for government to promote basic medical care for its citizens but who fully expect it to promote their own theological beliefs about marriage and family? That their anger underlies a deeper-seated, ugly tradition of conservative resistance? Or maybe that it's just way past time that they reread the Gospels?

April 18, 2010

Posted by: Chris

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